We'll get there
by annoyingeuropeanfemale
Summary: Despite what Laura always claimed, he wasn't raised by wolves, so he actually asked Scott if they were fine, if everything was fine back there. Scott, not so surprisingly, never told him everything was fine, just shot him vague answers of "we're dealing with it" and "mostly yeah, or at least it will be". [Oneshot]


_Note-y thing-y: I had this written in like February, I have no ideea why I didn't publish it here earlier._

* * *

It was two weeks after Derek and Cora left Beacon Hills when he got the first text from Scott. He didn't exactly expect the boy to want to keep in touch with them, not after everything that Derek blamed himself for happened, yet here he was, staring almost dumbly at the text and not exactly wanting to believe what he saw.

_"Dude Stiles will have my head if i don't assure him everything is alright with you guys so please tell me everything is fine"_

They were back in New York at the small apartment he and Laura shared after the fire, most of their belongings still there. Cora seemed to like it, she enjoyed the novelty of the city and the faded connection it had with a sister long lost, and Derek couldn't complain. He loved to see her smile, loved her amazed expression when he showed her around the city, so he couldn't bring himself to think about everything that happened in Beacon Hills, everything that went wrong the past year. He needed to let everything go for a while, he told that to Scott when they left and the boy understood, but apparently his overactive best friend wouldn't let them go that easy.

_"We're doing fine, don't worry" _

* * *

Derek didn't realize when he and Scott began to exchange texts semi-regularly. It usually started with the boy complaining about Stiles demanding information about him and Cora and the half-hearted texts of advice Scott sent in his behalf. Why was the human so concerned about them, Derek couldn't understand (or wouldn't want to understand, but nobody needed to know that), but he decided to reply to Scott, reticent at first, when Cora complained that she was tired of seeing him frowning at his phone.

_"Stiles wants to know if you're taking like a tour of the country"_

_"Rediscovering yourself he called it"_

_"It's not a road trip, Scott, we're in NY"_

_"He gets really jittery when you don't reply it's getting ridiculous"_

_"He called me two nights ago at 3 am to ask if you were still alive and then hanged up when i told him what time it was and when i asked him about it he told me it was nothing but i could tell he was lying"_

_"I think he has nightmares about you too"_

He didn't realize when he started worrying about those two either. Scott explained to him what happened with the Nemeton and what the three of them did for their parents. Derek understood that and deep down he admired them for having the courage to do that. He didn't start to fuss about the darkness until Scott told him about the nightmares Stiles had. And then about Allison being haunted by Kate. And then about how he couldn't transform. And then Derek started to really worry about them and sometimes, when Scott wouldn't text him for several days, he would send him one, not exactly asking if they were alright, mostly just small complaints like "Cora needs to stop singing in the shower, my ears are this close to bleeding" or "I wonder how fast she would heal if I threw her out the window" or something equally trivial about his annoying little sister and Derek couldn't get his heart beat under control until he heard the small "beep" that announced him he had a new text.

More importantly, he didn't realize he started worrying about Stiles more than Scott. When he did, he convinced himself it was just because he was human. He convinced himself that if he was in Stiles' place, he would never adapt like that. Being a human thrown in the middle of the supernatural world wasn't easy, but the boy was a survivor, Derek knew that. He just wasn't sure if Scott or anyone around realized that yet.

* * *

He groaned when the light from his phone and the short "beep" woke him up. He closed his eyes almost as fast as he opened them, deciding annoyed that nothing could be important enough at four am for him to wake up. His phone screen lit again and again and a small part of his brain tried to make him realize that maybe three texts at four in the morning really were important.

He recognized the number as he alarmingly noticed how fast his pulse managed to spike up. Scott texted him the number, half threatening him to use it and let Stiles know he was fine himself, but he never got around to do that.

_"Scott keeps assuring me everything is alright with you and yet this stupid darkness doesn't seem to want to get the message. This is the second time this week and i'm not exactly sure how to feel about it"_

_"Though I must admit it's mostly your fault seeing how nobody could do just "fine" every damn day"_

_"I've been through less than you Derek and I'm not fine so please stop lying to Scott about that. I believe you if you say you're better but you're not fine"_

He stared at the texts for what seemed like a small eternity until he replied at them with trembling fingers. He wasn't sure why he was shaking, couldn't bring himself to lie and just blame the chilliness of the apartment, but he managed to reply and turn off his phone and turn on the other side, pointedly ignoring everything that reminded him of Beacon Hills.

_"If I act like I'm fine I'll eventually be fine"_

The two texts that waited for him in the late morning when he opened his phone made something cringe painfully deep inside his chest.

_"I used to have hopes like that too"_

_"Just take care"_

* * *

Despite what Laura always claimed, he wasn't raised by wolves, so he actually asked Scott if they were fine, if everything was fine back there. Scott, not so surprisingly, never told him everything was fine, just shot him vague answers of "we're dealing with it" and "mostly yeah, or at least it will be". And even when Derek assured him that if they do need help to just to tell him, even after realizing that the last few weeks he had a better relationship with Scott than he did back in Beacon Hills, even when he admitted to himself he cared about those stupid teenagers, he couldn't ask Scott what he wanted to ask the most, couldn't ask Scott "is he alright?". He couldn't let himself think about the consequences that question could come with, couldn't let himself think about every implication that question might have.

Even when he was tortured alongside Peter, after they were captured, even when they had a goal set, he couldn't stop from thinking "is he alright?". He knew he wasn't fine, he didn't feel fine since the fire took place, but he deserved that. Stiles, on the other hand, never let his misery get the best of him. He didn't deserve anything that happened in Beacon Hills, none of those carefree teenagers that had their whole life in front of them did. Derek couldn't help but feel guilty because he didn't exactly care about them, not as much as he cared about a specific one.

Having an epiphany of this proportion while being electrocuted wasn't pleasant, he decided.

_Is he alright?_

* * *

Scott, bless his soul, never complained about him fussing over Derek. Scott never told him that Derek could take care of himself, never refused to text him and ask if they were alright at his concerned demand for as much as he complained about it. Stiles already knew Scott was the bestest friend ever, but with all that happened after the Nemeton he only gained more gold stars for never pointing out that Stiles was just acting like an annoying mother hen. But then again, Scott already knew how Stiles got about people he cared about, knew how he couldn't help himself but worry because Stiles was a nurturer and Scott understood that and never complained, not even when it was directed at him. And even after all that happened, even after he tried putting on his best confident façade and tried to be brave and mature about the whole thing, he broke down as soon as he felt his best friend hug him because as much as he tried taking care of others, he sometimes needed someone to take care of himself.

He tried to convince himself that was the reason he was so worked up over Derek, tried the "you know me, Scott, I worry about people, it's like a full job for me" excuse, even tried to bring himself to not care anymore, just to realize he failed miserably at that too. He hesitantly accepted that he cared what happened to Derek, no matter what, and he wouldn't stop worrying about him anytime soon.

Hugging his best friend in the middle of the hospital while he was fairly sure he was dying wasn't exactly a good time to have an epiphany over Derek Hale, he decided.

* * *

"I'm fine." He assured Scott for the nth time that night, even though he was so far from it. He was convinced it was some sort of miracle he managed to get control again, to push that thing back deep down and feel his body again even as darkness surrounded him. He woke up on one of the hospital beds, his father, Melissa and Scott gathered around with worry and concern plastered on their faces. He managed to convince his dad he was fine now and Melissa made sure he was comfortable for the night, since he would spend it in the hospital and then both of them left at the insistence of their teenage sons to get some rest.

Scott explained to him what happened and assured him everyone was alright and then Stiles told him his part of the story and now Scott wouldn't stop fussing over him.

"Are you sure? I can spend the night here if you want."

"Scott, I'm fine. Really. You need to sleep and you have to go to school tomorrow. More importantly, are you alright? Kira?" Scott told him she was outside the hospital and almost got hit by an electrical cable that disengaged from the roof. "Derek?" He was pretty sure Scott noticed the pause, but he couldn't bring himself to care, not now when he was too worried he hurt the people he cared about.

"We're all fine, Stiles, I promise." He paused for a bit, biting the inside of his cheek when an idea came to him. "I can ask Derek to stay, if you want. Well, I'm pretty sure he'll lurk around anyway but I can ask him to keep you company."

"No!" He realized too late he answered that too fast. "No, no need to do that." He assured in a calmer tone. He couldn't handle being around Derek, it was too soon after his realization by the scanner machine to deal with the werewolf now.

"He's worried about you, dude. Well, we all are, but half an hour ago he was fussing over you in the waiting area with me without even realizing it. He went to talk to Kira to find out what happened with you." Scott clasped a hand on his best friend's shoulder, squeezing gently. "But if you think it's not the time yet…" He trailed off and as much as Stiles wanted, he couldn't bring himself to smile at the boy.

"Hey, Scott." His voice was too thick for his liking and his chest was throbbing put a tornado of protests at his best friend before the werewolf continued with a smile. "You'll be there to do that."

* * *

He only managed to get three hours of sleep at the hospital, too scared to close his eyes for his tiredness to actually settle in, but he eventually passed out from exhaustion and was, surprisingly, woken up by Melissa in the early morning, a small reassuring smile on her face. His dad came to pick him up and get him home before leaving for his shift, and Stiles spent the entire ride claiming he was going to go and just pass out in his bed and then do all the homework he missed since he didn't want his grades to drop. His father still looked worried when he left, but he smiled at Stiles and the boy smiled back, a little forced, but still a smile, reassuring his dad he was going to be fine.

He wasn't sure what he'll actually do, because sleep was out of question for him. He did have a lot of homework, but no desire to do school work whatsoever and he sighed loudly when he climbed the stairs to get to his bedroom, deciding he'll just collapse in his bed for a while and stare at the walls when he finally opened his door.

His bed was occupied.

He let his backpack fall on the floor as he closed the door, carefully approaching the small package that was sitting innocently in the middle of his bed. A bag with two large orders of curly fries and a chocolate and banana milkshake sat on top of a thick book bounded in leather. He stared at the items completely baffled before he noticed the familiar handwriting on the paper bag. He picked it up and couldn't help the small smile forming on his lips, perhaps the only sincere one in weeks.

_"Take care."_

They weren't fine yet. But they were getting there.


End file.
